It’s a rite of passage at nearly every institution of higher learning in the country. But, does the process of declaring a major actually contradict the “liberal arts” ethos that Carleton strives for – that of a fluid, flexible, multidisciplinary approach to learning?

The next time you overindulge, it could cost you big time - even if you’re drinking Boxer.Taxi vouchers are hard to come by, and with a $1,600 charge for ambulance fees, it puts you between a rock and a hard place.

How can we view social injustice issues through Socrates’ principles? Renowned scholar an University of Chicago professor Martha Nussbaum investigated this question through an examination of society’s efforts to ban the burka.

Given the increasing intensity and frequency with which storms occur, the possibility of severe weather on campus is something that every student should be aware of. But how many students know what to do if such weather strikes?

Finding the right word to use on delicate issues can be tricky. Indeed, Mark Twain said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.”

For a college obsessed with diversity, it often feels like few campus events actually share and celebrate multiculturalism. Vayu Maini Rekdal ’15, the co-president and founder of the cooking club Firebellies, facilitated the club’s first annual Foodgressive last Friday with this in mind.

There are few things worth waking up early on a Saturday morning for: free food, softball with Solo cups, your friend’s inconveniently timed radio show, or perhaps, a grueling, multiple-hour obstacle course through the Arb.

Last Friday, the Carleton College Women’s Cross Country team crossed the border into the Badger State to take on an impressive field at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational. The Knights, ranked No. 15 nationally finished in fifth place, third among Division III team in the competition.

Depite Jordy Cammarota’s ‘15 first goal of the season and a distinct 26-5 advantage in shots, the Carleton College men’s soccer team couldn’t drum up enough offense as they played to a 1-1 tie against MIAC foes from Saint John’s University at Bell Field on Saturday, October 5th.

That’s all that separated Carleton College from its first MIAC Championships title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The 19th-ranked Knights fell just shy of capturing the conference crown, posting a team score of 952 to the University of St. Thomas’ 951.

It came from me receiving a generous fellowship to travel to Armenia for the summer, and it just so happened that my grandparents in Japan wanted to have me come visit as well. Thus followed a blur of airports and bus stations that took me from Denver to Moscow to Yerevan to Tbilisi to Istanbul to Tokyo to Denver. “There and Back Again,” someone once said.

If I’m right that the local food movement is fueled as much by the positive search for a more authentic mode of living as it is the fear of environmental degradation (and this ought to be disputed, ‘cause though I love food, my own cooking skills never really progressed much past blue box pasta so y’all probably know more about this than me), I’d just like to point briefly to one pitfall the local food movement will perhaps be prone to falling in to.

Of course Carleton is a diverse place and a microcosm of America. On the other hand, of course a school with a vocal subculture that celebrates the class politics of Harry Potter has a certain set of handicaps to contend with when it tries to discuss its own diversity.

You could say that some Carls had something of a “nuclear cow” this past weekend at 4th Musser, stemming from what may seem to be an innocuous tradition here: theft of a stuffed cow. And not just any cow. It was the Nolympics prize cow.

Coming from Kenya, Cuba, India and Norway has not always been easy. Meeting family always meant adapting to new practices and traditions. However cliché it may seem, there was a certain unity in this diversity.

In fact, our only shared characteristic -- a love for cooking -- might have been the most powerful.

When it comes to food, a lot of people have the mentality of “it tastes good, I enjoy it, don’t ruin it for me by telling me all the problems with it.” At least that was how I was for a long time. And while it’s hard to face the uncomfortable realities behind our habits, we cannot afford to further distance ourselves from the process that brings food to our plates.